SC had at least 29 earthquakes in 2021. Here’s what scientists say. | Colombia

COLOMBIA – The 3.3-magnitude earthquake and its aftershocks that struck the Midlands in the last week of December increased the number of earthquakes recorded in Palmetto State to 29 in 2021, the most in at least 50 years, according to federal earthquake data.

But scientists are not bothered by the apparent rise and say the level of seismic activity this year is in line with historical trends. They include 11 small earthquakes in the Lowcountry, nine in the Midlands — six of those that occurred just last week — and a group of seven earthquakes in the fall near a nuclear-powered power plant in Fairfield County. The northern and southern edge of Lancaster County also recorded one each.

“I’m not worried. I see what’s going on within the ‘natural variance’ of earthquake occurrence in the South Carolina area,” said Tom Owens, who leads the South Carolina Seismological Network at the University of South Carolina.

What is the magnitude of SC earthquakes?

Of the 29 earthquakes recorded in this state as of December 30, most have gone unnoticed. At least six of them recorded a magnitude of 2.5, which measures the intensity of an earthquake based on the size of the underground energy waves it creates.

By contrast, California, known for its seismic activity, experienced more than 1,300 earthquakes in 2021 with a rate of 2.5 or higher, according to data from the US Geological Survey. The strongest of those, at 6.2, hit off the northern California coast on December 20.

Earthquakes of less than magnitude 2.5 are very small, and people generally don’t realize anything is going on. But it accounts for the bulk of seismic activity measured by seismographs. Millions of these earthquakes occur worldwide each year, according to Michigan Tech University.

In the United States, South Carolina is one of only two places east of the Mississippi River with a history of large earthquakes. Another is the New Madrid fault line, which runs along the Mississippi River and affects populations in Missouri, Tennessee and Arkansas, said Stephen Jaume, a seismologist and associate professor of geology at the College of Charleston.

“These things happen every now and then,” Jaume said. “They always happen. People don’t feel them often because they’re not old enough.”

Those with a magnitude of 2.5 to 5.4, such as the one near Fort Jackson on December 27, are perceptible but cause only minimal damage, if any at all.

More than 3,000 District of Columbia residents reported feeling tremors, though no injuries or damage were reported to the state’s Department of Emergency Management or the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.

The world typically has half a million of these annually.

Jaume described the small earthquakes that occurred in the final days of 2021 as “a good reminder that we are an earthquake country.”

It is not until an earthquake reaches a magnitude of 7 that it is considered a major event causing significant damage. There are 10 to 15 of these worldwide each year, according to statistics from Michigan Tech.

South Carolina has not seen any of these since August 31, 1886, when a 7.3-magnitude earthquake destroyed most of the brick buildings in Charleston and Summerville, the epicenters, setting fires and sweeping hospitals. At least 60 people died in the largest earthquake ever recorded on the East Coast. People reported feeling the wave of more than 2.5 million square miles up and down the East Coast and west into the Mississippi River, according to the state’s Department of Emergency Management.

SC . fault lines

That area, which Jaume calls the Middleton Place-Summerville Seismic Zone, remains a hot spot, accounting for 70 percent of all earthquakes in the state and quadrupling annual seismic numbers over the past 50 years.

In 2014, the USGS raised its risk calculations for earthquake-prone states, predicting that South Carolina would likely experience another major earthquake sometime in the next 50 years. The adjustment followed a 5.8-magnitude earthquake in Virginia in 2011 and changes in how seismicity is measured.

These risk assessments are important because insurers and developers rely heavily on them, affecting billions of dollars in annual building decisions nationwide. Prior to the update, the most dangerous area of ​​South Carolina covered fewer square miles.

While earthquakes are less common in the Midlands than in the Lowcountry, one large fault – the East Piedmont fault system – still runs through the region, Jaume said.

This system consists of several fault lines extending from Alabama to Virginia.

On its way to the northeast, the rift runs through central South Carolina following the line of the Atlantic Coast fall, as the region’s geology fades from marine sediments in the coastal plain to the rocks of the ancient Appalachian Mountains of Piedmont.

In the north of the state, Gum said, the southern Appalachian seismic zone is a frequent source of small earthquakes.

This is where the second largest earthquake in the state was recorded. In 1913, Union was the epicenter of a 5.5-magnitude earthquake.

Owens said that the sequences, or a series of multiple earthquakes together like those near Fort Jackson in the past few days, were responsible for much of the seismic activity in 2021 that upped the statistics for this year.

Another sequence was recorded two months ago at Monticello Reservoir, which supplies water for the VC Summer nuclear plant in Fairfield County. Gaume said the reservoir is known to have swarms of earthquakes, such as the seven that occurred from Oct. 25 to Nov. 1.

“This has happened before,” he said of earthquake clusters in the reservoir 35 miles from downtown Columbia. “In fact, in a year or two after building (the reservoir) they had several thousand.”

The 2.9-magnitude earthquake near the reservoir, completed in 1978, was the largest in the region’s history. Jaume said the largest this year was 2.3 degrees.

Dominion Energy said the nuclear-powered power plant never suffered any damage from the earthquake.

Spokesman Ken Holt said it was built to withstand much higher seismic activity than is typical for the area.

“These plants are very strong structures,” he said. “They are designed to withstand all kinds of events.”

VC Summer has its own seismic monitoring system and will automatically shut off itself if the tremors exceed a certain threshold. Other safety measures include standby motors, pumps, and generators. Holt said any equipment thought to be at risk of falling is tied to seismic constraints.

Monitor small earthquakes

A similar year for seismic activity in the state may have been 2013, Owens said, when there were a series of earthquakes on the state’s western edge and in Lowcountry. Eighteen earthquakes were recorded that year — 14 of them near Summerville, according to the state’s Department of Natural Resources.

Because of its reputation for tremors, Jaume boosted his monitoring capabilities near Summerville this year after winning a two-year, $42,000 grant to create 19 temporary seismic scales around Dorchester County.

“What we’re trying to do is better determine the shape and location of the fault that caused the 1886 earthquake,” he said. “We don’t have the information to determine things in this definitive way.”

Jaume previously attempted to study the more active seismic zone of the Lowcountry in 2011, but the Virginia earthquake pulled seismographs away.

Now, with the right equipment in place, Jaume is mapping all the tremors that occur, using specialized methods to look for vibrations that measure even magnitude close to zero. That level of accuracy, he said, would allow him to build a 3D model of the fault location.

“But we have to collect a lot of data to do that,” he said.

Jaume said a better understanding of fault routing would be especially useful in fast-growing regions, such as Summerville, around Charleston. As development spreads and new buildings are erected, he said, engineers are becoming better able to design buildings in areas at risk of earthquake damage.

Are you insured?

Earthquakes are not covered by most homeowners’ insurance policies. Like hurricane insurance, earthquake insurance is separate from the standard policy and must be purchased as an add-on.

Despite the state’s history of earthquakes, very few South Carolinas bought coverage. Insurers sold $48.2 million in earthquake premiums in 2020. That compares with $1.97 billion in home insurance and $147.6 million in flood insurance premiums, State Insurance Administration Director Rick Farmer said.

“Consumers in the state are not prepared for a major earthquake because we haven’t bought coverage,” Farmer said. “You don’t want to be unlocked over a catastrophic event.”

Jaume said that although scientists in the state were not alarmed by the growing number of earthquakes recorded this year, there is unfortunately no way to predict when the major earthquake will occur.

“When that happens again, it will be a very moving event for the Lowcountry,” he said.

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